Recently, I have spent some time in Seoul. Since I have time in the morning, I stopped by the Westin Chosun, Seoul and check it out.

I did not eat breakfast yet. Since I am SPG Gold and I needed breakfast anyway, I checked out the breakfast options there and see if I should spend my time that (and earn so SPG points).

But, when I started checking the hotel (especially breakfast buffet), the hostess told me that the buffet will cost KRW$46000 (or roughly USD$46).

It was not the first time I went to a 5-Star hotel. But is that price can really justified?

Can any FTers provide some insight to me (especially to those stay frequently at the Westin)?

By the way, I left and ate Mr. M instead.

I was at the London Waldorf about 5-6 years ago. The buffet was 44 GBP which at the time was about $80.

I was HHonors Diamond so I got it for free. And it was a hell of a breakfast spread. But I would not have even though of paying that much out of pocket.

I would pay that on a special occasion, but not on an average stay. One reason why I try to keep top tier status on 1 or 2 hotel chains, is that I often get such breakfast deals for free.

European hotels often have pretty pricey meals. I recall a stay at the AMS Hilton 5 years ago, where I was supposed to get breakfast, but weeks later was charged for it. I think that was in the range of $40, and it was nice, but nothing I'd normally think that was worth more than $20. With the strong Euro, and 5 years going by, it's probably $60 now.

From the amount I eat at breakfast, just one word: no!

One more thing to add is I can understand why lunch and dinner buffet are expensive.

But you know you will not eat the same thing as breakfast (e.g. you will not eat oysters for breakfast, right?).

So an egg is simply an egg. How can they charge so high?

They will only charge what people will be willing to pay. The economics of supply and demand are fairly straightforward.

A shrewd businessperson might decide that the price is too high and that by lowering it they will maximise profits by increasing the number of people who were otherwise put off. If so, they will do so.

Personally, I have a hard time paying $46 for dinner (on my own dime I tend to be cheap about food, I just want it fairly healthy and tasty). If you have people traveling on a generous expense account and no P&L responsibility, there you go. I would think that most business travelers would get frowns turning an expensive report with a $46 breakfast (unless it involved customers and the like.)

Ah, but if you went to the Grand Hyatt up on Namsan, you'd only pay something like $38!

Seriously, most of these hotels are serving the expense account clientele, and that's what the market will bear -- my company is pretty frugal about travel (e.g. non-upgradeable coach for transpac) and they don't blink at the breakfast charge in an overseas "business" hotel.

When I'm on my own dime, I tend to avoid those hotels anyway, so the buffet price isn't such a big deal...

Same here. My husband and I stayed at the Hilton am Park in Munich, where breakfast is served in a beautiful, airy room with views of a nearby creek. It was around that price range. It was a nice spread with all kinds of meats and cheeses and omelets cooked to order. Wine was available during the week and champagne on Sundays. As HHonors Gold members we got it for free and it just meant that we could enjoy a hearty breakfast and have a lighter lunch. If we'd had to pay for our own breakfast it would have been breads and cheeses from local shops.

It may be that they can keep the price high because for many it's an Elite perk, for others it's included in the price of the room, and for a segment of the business travel crowd, price is not an issue. In my case, even though my boss is a very reasonable guy, I wouldn't spend that much of the company's money on breakfast, either, and would check out local shops.

It's time like these that throwing some of those little packages of oatmeal into your suitcase really comes in handy...

Nope. $46 is silly.

I understand, but everything has a value.

What I am trying to say is how these hotels justify the high price? In other word, by paying this amount money, what you can get out from it?

What's so special about this breakfast buffet?

(Of course, if I am not the one paying, I will take it regardless...)

There is no real value other than for people to lazy to walk out of their hotel and that have a free spending expense account. Other than those at the C level, I can't imagine that too many business travelers could justify a $46 breakfast.

Personally, I would never pay $46 for a breakfast (no matter what the spread is like).

Only if I were being waited-on and spoon-fed by Matthew McConaughey, wearing a gold speedo (Matthew wearing the speedo, of course, not me.....I do have the responsibility to not ruin everyone else's appetite, whether they're on an expense account or not...)

$46 isn't even that expensive in some locations (Tokyo, London, Paris, etc). When many of the hotels cost $300-$500 per night, it's not considered a big expense.

I certainly won't pay for it, though. Most big corporations will have breakfast included in their negotiated contracts, along with internet, and perhaps even club access.

Most of the time the person who actually pays the $40-$80 for breakfast is someone who is not elite, and not on a negotiated rate stay.

I've seen some negotiated rates under $100 in Asia that include Mercedes car service from the airport, a very nice breakfast, free internet etc, and under $100 per night before tax.